Christmas is just around the corner, and so are expenses. This is where all these Christmas tips on budget shopping come in. You’ll learn ways to save money during the holidays, cut costs and make things work on a tight budget, and even score great deals on last-minute Christmas shopping.
Christmas is that time of the year, where saving money is quite tricky. It seems it’s all about spending.
I hear you. I can feel your pain or a little bit of frustration (if you’re a saver). My wife and I have been there.
But believe it or not:
There are ways to get out of this seasonal cycle and put money back in your savings account.According to the Investopedia, the average American is going to spend around $885 on Christmas gifts.
aThat’s a significant amount if you ask me. But this person shouldn’t always be you.
Fortunately:
These are budgeting shopping tips that people tend to overlook at times. Click here to learn more about how to make a budget.
If you’re ready:
Read on!
11 Christmas Tips For Shopping on A Budget
Here are some budget shopping ideas ( that includes Amazon hacks) you can use to help you tsave as much money as you can without feeling deprived.
Once you know these, you’ll tell yourself that you should have thought about these ideas before. I know I did that.
So, here they are:
1. Sit down and make a list
1. Sit down and make a listOne of the best Christmas tips for shopping on a budget is to be like Santa.
Don’t just head out and buy what you think your loved ones will love to have.
Be sure to make a list and check it twice or three times.
It may sound counter-intuitive and foolish, but you must do this before shopping.
With so many products out in the market and endless discounts here and there, it’s easy to get confused and buy more than what you intend to buy.
Let’s use an easy example.
If you don’t make a list and go to a grocery store and buy your food, you tend to buy more than what you should buy. I know that it happens to my wife and me many times.
But if you go to store (mainly when you use your grocery list apps to save money) with a list on your hand, more likely than not, you’ll buy what you have on your list.
2. Never buy anything without using cash back sites
It’s a fact of shopping online, that is, some sites will give you some money back for shopping.
That’s where cash back sites are of great use!
These sites are shopping portals where you can buy things from brands and retailers on deep discount.
Some shopping sites acts as a gateway to your final store destination.
This means that you go to their sites, click on the store you want to go to, and, then, you’ll be directed there. The cash back will work on the background. When you check out and pay, that cash back will be deposited in your cash back site account. It’s what you called free money.
That’s it.
This year alone, my wife and I have made over $200 in cash back rewards.
Here are some of the cash back sites I highly recommend:
- MyPoints (Desktop l Mobile) (Get $10 gift card when you spend $20)
- Swagbucks (Get $5 when you sign up)
- Ebates
- Dollar Dig (Sign up and get $2.50 instantly)
3. Don’t check out right away
Retailers want your business. Aside from enticing you with great deals and compelling marketing tactics, they’ll give you additional discounts if you stick around.
When I stay stick around, I didn’t mean that you become a regular customer.
Leave your items in your online shopping cart unpurchased. That’s right. Don’t pay right away. Give a couple of days before making the final purchase.Why?
That’s because retailers want you to buy those items, and will give you additional discounts to get the transaction done.
They’ll either give you discounts, free shipping, coupon deals, etc.
It’s one of those Christmas budget shopping tips people don’t pay attention to.
4. Sign up for Amazon Prime
If you’re going to spend $30, $40, or even more on shipping this Christmas time, then, joining Amazon Prime could be a great idea.
Not only will you be getting free shipping on thousands of items, but you’ll also be getting two-day shipping for free.
So, if you are in a time crunch and didn’t buy your gifts ahead of time, Amazon Prime is your best friend.
Not to mention, there are thousands of discounted items on Amazon. Plus, you’ll get the following benefits for FREE:
- Amazon Music
- Amazon Video
- Amazon Audible
- And more. Click here to answer your question of “Is Amazon Prime worth it?”
5. Be strategic in how you use coupons and other discounts
Believe it or not:
Sometimes, to get more discounts, you need to pay attention to the order you use your coupons and discounts. See here to use coupon apps.
Here are two scenarios:
Scenario #1:
- Buy a $100 worth of groceries – 10% discount coupon (or equivalent to $10) = $90
- $90 – $10 off coupon = $80
Scenario #2
- Buy a $100 worth of groceries – $10 off coupon = $90
- $90 – 10% discount coupon (or equivalent to $9) = $81
You’ll see that you’d be saving $1 more if you use scenario 1 than scenario 2.
The lesson here is that just because you can use coupons and other discounts together does it mean that you should use them in any other.
This is one of the best but often overlook Christmas tips for budgeted shopping.
6. Buy and/or discounted gift cards
So, before you make final decisions or pay for products you want to purchase, buy discounted gift cards. Yes, there are numerous sites out there dedicated to selling gift cards at discounted prices.
Some gift cards can be bought at a 5% discount and some at 30% discount, depending on the store.
If you do have gift cards that you don’t find any use for, you can sell those gift cards and use the money to buy gift cards you want to use or use the money for something else.
You can buy discounted gift cards for just about any store there is out there.Whether it’s Walmart or Barnes and Noble, you will find a wide selection of gift cards on the following gift card online stores. These are the stores that my wife and I use every single time.
We don’t leave the house without buying the gift cards we need to use.
Yes, many gift cards can be bought and can be used on the same day.
- Raise.com (Get $5 when you sign up through this link)
- Giftcards.com (Buy gift cards online and earn rewards)
- Cardpool.com (Buy gift cards for up to 35% off or sell yours for up to 92% cash back. Plus, you will get $5 when you sign up through this link)
- Restaurant.com (My wife uses restaurant.com when we dine out. I say, you never have to pay full price when you use this site)
7. Use specific credit cards
Be sure also to use those credit cards that give you cash back, points, and/or rewards, but make sure you pay it on time and in full to avoid additional charges.
We use Discover Card, and it has given us over $500 in cash back every year on our purchases.
Plus, we get a free FICO score, and ever-increasing credit limit, which is good to increase your credit score. Click here to learn how to improve credit score of yours.
We also use our Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express. It works like our Discover Card, but we use this for big purchases that we can stagger the payments without having to pay interest.
Plus, we get 3% of most of our purchases plus product warranty, car insurance coverage, and so many things.
This year alone, we have made $800 from cash backs and deals with our American Express. Click here to experience all the benefits this card has to offer.
Note: If you aren’t sure if you have good credit to qualify for these awesome cards, check your score and report at Credit Sesame. Create an account here for FREE, and you’ll see right away your credit information.
8. Check for price updates
Christmas is the season of fluctuating prices. Yes, today you may see the product you bought at 30% discount. Tomorrow or some other days, you may see it at a 40% discount.
If you want to save some money, you need to look out for these price fluctuations.
While Paribus will do this for you, you can take the extra step so you can get additional savings when your credit card issuers match the price and give you back the difference. Click here to see my Paribus review.
Some stores will adjust your prices and give you back the price difference. Some credit cards do the same thing. You can’t get the price difference from the stores and the credit cards at the same time.
I bought a router a couple of weeks ago and found that the price of the router went down a week after I bought it. I called my credit card company and asked for the price difference. I got it without any problem.
9. Use online coupons
Before you hit that buy button, you need to use coupon codes to get more discounts.
I like to use Retail Me Not site because I can find coupons that work. I always go to this site to cut my bill even lower.
You will be surprised by the range of discounts this site has.
10. Visit online stores
Before you even think about going out to look for those gifts, stop by the online stores to see where the best prices are for those products you want to buy.
You can easily compare prices from different online stores without having to jump from one physical store to another.
The best thing about doing it online is that you are staying out of traffic and crowd.
Just in case you want to go to the physical stores, you can still look at online stores to see what products they have or don’t have. More likely than not, what they have online is what they have in-store.
11. Lookout for purchases with free gifts
You’ll find that a lot of retailers will entice you with promotions like “Buy 1, Get 1 Free.”
When you see this, try to look closer if the price of one item is reasonable. When it is, then, you should consider buying it.
Basically, you’re hitting two birds with one stone. You get one for a great price, and you get another one for free that you can gift to another person.
That’s one of the Christmas tips for shopping on a budget you should be on the lookout for.
Christmas Tips on Budget Shopping: Conclusion
These are the tricks to save you money during this Christmas season. My family manages to save a ton of money every year because of these tips and tricks. I know you can, too.
Are you ready to save money this Christmas? Which of these tips do you think will help you save more money than ever before? Do you think these Christmas tips will work for you?
